Has anyone here taken their kids out of school for a disney trip?

[Amy&Dan]

I have done it three times and will do it again next September for our cruise. I know the value of education and agree that in a perfect world we could work our trips to coincide with school holidays. Unfortunately, my other two "kids" are my two elderly parents who cannot be left home alone. So I end up having to go on vacation generally when my brother can fly them out to his house in Chicago while I am gone. So I have to work around his work schedule and when he can be at home to be with them while they are there. That gets really tricky. Also, we have taken two Disney trips with my parents who cannot handle heat or crowds so we had to go to DL and WDW at a time that would work for them. Those memories are worth more than anything my kids could have learned from school in a few days. As for the cruise, it saved me big time to go in a very off season so for that school absence, it was about money frankly! Oh, and one other kink in my vacation plans is that beginning this September, for the next two years, my kids have two completely different school schedules. She will continue year round, he will be traditional. They will have Christmas break and two weeks off in the summer. I think I see more school absences in the next two years for at least one of them! If my district is dumb enough to have families with two different schedules they had better not give me any future grief on this one!

 

[ACDSNY]

Our kids are grown, but we always took them out in the fall for vacation. Both my husband and I have jobs that do not allow for spring or summer breaks and we live on a farm so we vacation in the fall when we have the least amount of animals for someone to come in and take care of. Our youngest was in his freshman year of college on our last trip. They've alway requested their homework ahead of time and made sure they made up any missed work. Of course there have been a few teachers that have given them grief, but that's life.

 

[spazzyjazzy]

I have a few times for my son's birthday trip to Disneyland and my own birthday trip.

 

[cfrith]

Our dd7 has been sick quite a lot this school year including pneumonia in November. Even so, we talked to both her teacher, and principal who basicly said she can go to school anytime, but Disneyland is a special family time not to be missed! So even though she missed quite a few days already this year, we are taking her out for another week this month to go to DlR! She is doing great in school though...I think it's more of an issue when they are a bit older.

 

[rlyrehc]

Yup...a gazillion times. OK, maybe not that many but we've gone to WDW about 15 times since my oldest was in Kindergarten for as short as a 5 day long weekend to as long as 10 days. One time we went during Easter week and vowed we would never go when kids were out of school again. Here is my philosophy:

I have my kids for only 18 years. They can make up the missed work and i can't make up the missed opportunity.

My kids do well in school so maybe if they were struggling i'd think different but the memories and the message that nothing is more important than time with them is well worth a little stress catching up. I may change my tune this fall but i doubt it. My son will be entering high school and we have our first California and DL trip planned for 10 days in Oct. I plan to keep the teachers completely aware of the trip and support them in all other ways during the rest of the year but this time in non-negotiable. I have never had a teacher give me a hard time.

Good Luck and enjoy. Your kids will love it and you will love it.

 

[Chicago526]

Well, here's a post from the point of view from someone that was actually pulled out of school for a Disney trip (WDW in FL, but the idea is the same).

When I was 7, and my DB's were 11 and 13, my parents took us out of school for a full week, I believe it was in October. Our teachers made up homework packets (I don't know how they felt about it, but Mom never said anything about them giving her a hard time) and we had to do them after we got back from the parks each day, before we were allowed to go to the arcade for the evening. I also had to do "show and tell" when I got back to class.

I'm telling you, I wouldn't trade those memories for anything in this world, I consider that one of the best weeks of my life. My brothers and I didn't miss a beat with school, all our work was turned in when we got back and we picked up where we left off with no problems.

I plan on doing the same with my kids, as long as they are good students. I'll most likely never do it for more than a week, and only once per school year, and only while they are in grade school (jr high and high school is just too hard). But done right, I see no problem what so ever in pulling a kid out of school for a week for a family vacation.

 

[TSRE]

Thought I would throw my 2 cents in - we are year-round and chose our track based on good vacation times so I haven't had to make this choice yet (but I will when I am facing the same situation as Amy&Dan with two kids on different schedules), but I think of it from the kids' perspective also. I vividly remember when I was in Elementary school there was a girl whose parents took her out every year for a week at Disneyland. I was so jealous even though she was very nice about it, and she felt so truly special getting to get out of school like that. I can't imagine one week of school mattering more than that, except maybe when High School gets very rigorous, as noted above.

We plan on taking the older one, who will be traditional in Junior High, out for our normal May trip. My son's Kindergarten teacher even takes a day off to take her kids to the dentist and then have a family day - I can't imagine she would care!! Everyone has to make their own decisions.

 

[MissKIA]

We did take our kids out last March for a trip to Mexico. I think they missed 5 days in total and their teachers were fine with it. For our trip to DL this year we were originally planning on going in early December, but because my Dad may be having surgery (I work for him and would have to cover) around that time decided to change our trip to an earlier time. We decided to go in September but after thinking about it I thought it seemed silly to take the kids out of school right after they start the new year, especially after just having 2 months to go without having to take them out. I agree with the poster who said that at the beginning of the school year they need time to "get in the groove". Instead we are going from Aug 20-30. I also keep reading that DL has been busy no matter when you go this year because of the 50th so I figured why not just bite the bullet and go in August. September might not be that much slower anyway. I'm hoping the last week won't be quite as busy as the rest of the summer too since some kids will be gone back to school already. Enjoy your vacation whatever you decide!

 

[amw]

If there are pre-schoolers in the family mix, you absolutely have to do Disney during off-season. I also have no problems with taking my DD out of school. As long as you talk to the teacher before hand. There are way more kids in her class that have missed /daysweeks of school due to illness.

My DD was only in Senior Kindergarten last time we went, but even so, I asked her teacher for homework. She replied that the trip would be more "learning" than she would ever get in the classroom This was last September, which was really quiet at WDW because it's hurricane season.

My husband works out of province, flying home only on weekends. The bonus of this kind of work is that he earns enough aeroplan miles for us to afford to go on vacation every year. One of the huge negatives is that my little ones don't get much time with Daddy. These school-year vacations are super important for my DDs in terms of the bonding time they can spend together. I would not trade them in for any school lessons.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

Just got a call from my sister last night. She's following her husband to Hong Kong for his business trip in the end of May and wanted to know if we would like to join her. She'll be taking her 3yo to the Hong Kong Disneyland while her dh is doing business. She knows how much my family loves disneyland and thought this would be a great opportunity to visit another in a different culture. I don't know what to do. We just took my ds (8 & in 2nd grade) and dd(5 and in preschool) out for 2 week in Sept-Oct and out for 1 week in late Mar-Apr. If we go, I'll be taking the kids out for 2 weeks as we would visit my parents in the Pacific as well. I felt horrible about taking the kids out last month, but I don't know if an opportunity like this will come again (going to DL HOngKong). I've never considered the prospect of going anywhere but Disneyland, CA 'til the kids are older. What would you guys do? Ds is just getting back into the swing of school from our last trip. Would you pull your kids out again? My kids see my parents maybe twice every 3 years. They last saw them in Oct, but we don't have any plans to see them 'til 2007 unless we do this trip with my sister. What to do?

 

[amw]

My kids see my parents maybe twice every 3 years. They last saw them in Oct, but we don't have any plans to see them 'til 2007 unless we do this trip with my sister. What to do?

I think you'll kick yourself if you don't take this opportunity. I know 3 trips in one year is a lot, but seeing grandparents twice every 3 years is not! If you were going only to see Disney... but family is what's important to your little guys in the long run.

As long as they don't start expecting 3 trips a year, every year, LOL!

 

[RADOPT]

but I don't know if an opportunity like this will come again (going to DL HOngKong). I've never considered the prospect of going anywhere but Disneyland, CA 'til the kids are older. What would you guys do? Ds is just getting back into the swing of school from our last trip. Would you pull your kids out again? My kids see my parents maybe twice every 3 years. They last saw them in Oct, but we don't have any plans to see them 'til 2007 unless we do this trip with my sister. What to do?

I would definately go! Time with grandparents is important and they are walking history books if you need an education twist to the time. A change to see other cultures is a education in itself - one you can not get in any classroom. My parents tooks us to Denmark when I was in 3rd grade. I missed 3+ weeks of school. Not only did I get to meet my relatives but also got to see how others live - there were a lot of differences. We did a report on our trip to make up the class work.

What a great opportunity for your children!

 

[kelmac284]

We also take our kids of out school every year. First of all we don't like to go during high season and second of all I have a stepdaughter who goes to her mother's in another state during summer so we usually HAVE to go during school year.

We have been doing this for years and My oldest is a straight A student.

This past year we took them for 2 weeks but the oldest who is now in 8th grade opted to only stay a week so it wasn't too much to miss however my kindergartener was gone the whole time and she did a journal as well as they gave her LOTS of homework but we did it all the week before we left.

We try to only take them out once a year and I have never had a problem.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

Thanks for your quicky replies amw & RADOPT. We are leaning towards going but are awaiting a response to ds's teacher. We emailed here this morning. I will talk to her when I pick up ds this afternoon. 3 trips in one year, LOL. It's actually going to be 4 trips. We've got another trip planned to DL in Aug with dh's mom & stepdad. Can't cancel that as mil has been lookin forward to being with the kids in DL again. We went her, dh's grandmother, and dh's sister in 2004. I'll let you guys know what we end up doing. Crossing fingers ds's teacher will give the okay.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Hong Kong DL is very much a work in progress right now.....I would wait a few years.I guess i don't understand how your sister's trip benefits you specifically to make you go ?

 

[jemilah]

Victor and Bellas mom , I would go too! It sounds like a possible once in a life time trip and would be so educational for the kids. Does your school have a limit on days missed? Our schools in 20 a year and one kid has 5 and the other 6 so I feel fine about them losing 5 more. If you are really concerend you kids will fall behind , arrange a conference with the teachers and share your concerns , they see your kids in a different way then you do. I seem to think kids are doing so much home work anyway most learning is done out of class! Family time is so precious in our busy lifes it so so hard to pass up!

 

[NotSoLittleMermaid]

Just got a call from my sister last night. She's following her husband to Hong Kong for his business trip in the end of May and wanted to know if we would like to join her. She'll be taking her 3yo to the Hong Kong Disneyland while her dh is doing business. She knows how much my family loves disneyland and thought this would be a great opportunity to visit another in a different culture. I don't know what to do. We just took my ds (8 & in 2nd grade) and dd(5 and in preschool) out for 2 week in Sept-Oct and out for 1 week in late Mar-Apr. If we go, I'll be taking the kids out for 2 weeks as we would visit my parents in the Pacific as well. I felt horrible about taking the kids out last month, but I don't know if an opportunity like this will come again (going to DL HOngKong). I've never considered the prospect of going anywhere but Disneyland, CA 'til the kids are older. What would you guys do? Ds is just getting back into the swing of school from our last trip. Would you pull your kids out again? My kids see my parents maybe twice every 3 years. They last saw them in Oct, but we don't have any plans to see them 'til 2007 unless we do this trip with my sister. What to do?

Having just retired from being an elementary teacher for 35 years (15 years first grade, last 20 as a reading specialist working with remedial students), I'm going to give my opinion, based on my experiences through the years.

When I read "Ds is just getting back into the swing of school from our last trip." it made me take notice. It could mean many different things, but my intuition is that your son has missed a lot of school already, his age and grade are often critical times in learning to read, a week or two weeks off is a MUCH longer time relatively speaking for an 8 year old than an adult and if he is just getting back into the swing it might be very disruptive to have him miss again, especially so soon after the last absence and so close to the end of the year. Sensitive kids can get very disoriented when they go back and forth from one schedule/lifestyle to another so it's not just a matter of getting make-up work from the teacher making sure it's covered.

Please just take this for what it's worth, I don't know your child or your personal circumstances. Just another point of view to consider.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

I spoke with ds's teacher yesterday and was given the ok. Dh and I are still debating whether I should go with the kids though. After speaking with my sister, we'll be in Hong Kong for 3-5 days and a week with my parents in Guam.
Judyfrom Boise - when my sister extended her offer to accompany her, she extended the offer of using my bil's mileage to get us to Hong Kong - so our airfare would be free. We'd only have to pay for hotels, park fees, food, etc. Jemilah- It does sound like a great opportunity to visit another country even if it's all a pretense to check out another Disney resort. LOL! I'm actually most excited that my kids will be able to visit their granparents. Ds and dd were 4 and 1 the last time they visited my parents in Guam. They have so many relatives who would not recognize them now.
NotSoLittleMermaid- Thank you for giving your input , the opinion of an eduactor is valued highly. Ds has been reading since prior to kindergarten and is was one of the top students in his class overall. When i meant "getting back into the swing of things", I meant he's finally adhering to his bedtime schedule of 8pm (during our trip it would often be 11pm or past midnight), not school-work wise. Our last trip ran into spring break. So even though we've been back since last Tuesday from our last trip, today is only ds's 3rd back in school. We've been very lucky with ds, he absoluetly loves school and enjoys learning new things. He knows homework takes precendence over anything else he has going on. Thank you for your concern NotSo Little Mermaid.
BIL is checking into our plane tickets today - seeing if travel dates are available using his mileage (luckily none of our passports will expire soon). I'll know more in the next few days whether we're doing this trip or not.

 

[Pdowning98]

Hi Starlette - I am right down the road from you in Spanaway!

Anyway, we took our soon out of school for a few days last time we went to DL. At the end of the month we are going for a week to WDW for the first time. So he will be missing a week. I think it is just a matter of whether you are ok with it and your children's school being ok with it. I spoke with my son's teacher a couple of weeks ago and she was thrilled and is excusing all work/tests that are suppose to be done in exchange for a journal of a few sentences and pictures to share with class. He is in the 2nd grade. So, whatever you decide have a great time -- as I know we will in FL.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Free airfare is definately a considerations ! Just do some research into the park so you won't be dissapointed.